Archive for March, 2007

The basic analytical work for the fund will be to determine value, and compare it to price.

By value, I mean an economic common-sense understanding of the word. In a Buffet-like way, I’m asking, “would I pay this amount (the market cap) to own this entire company?” I am specifically not using the mutual fund industry’s simple definition of “Value = low P/E”. There’s more to it than that.

Another way this approach is sometimes described is Growth at a Reasonable Price (GAARP). That, too, only partially captures my approach.

The fund will buy the best values (subject to further screening for good corporate citizenship) and sell short the worst values.

By being long-short, the fund should be less volatile than the overall market.

Socially Responsible Investing is a relatively new idea in the marketplace, and it still has a range of different meanings for different people.

Since this is my fund, I’ll base it on my values. If investors agree with those values, then the fund can help their money work for their values.

Key areas:
* Ecology– companies should take responsibility for their effect on the ecosystem.
* Human Rights– companies should treat people the way you would want to be treated.
* Corporate Governance– the shareholders own the company, and should be able to hold managers accountable.

It occurs to me that trademark registration is almost an obsolete concept.

While I was trying to find a name, my tool for discarding unavailable names was Google, backed up by checking to see which internet domains (URL base names) were registered. If a name comes up in a google, it scarely matters whether the name is formally trademarked. It is TAKEN.

I’ve now taken LongspliceInvestments.com, as well as 14 other domains that are close enough that people might go there by accident (ie, LongspliceInvestment.com (singular Investment) or LongspliceInvestments.biz, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.)

Now I’m quickly whipping out a simple logo, then business cards, then finally back from this marketing digression to my portfolio business.